Web Design Packages 

Let me say straight away that, with one or two exceptions, I am not a big fan of web design packages. On the whole they are not, in my view, good value for money.

I feel that they tend to be overpriced, under-supported and the software provided is often of poor quality. Personally I've found that what software packages claim to do can usually be done very much more cheaply by using your own software and a quality, low-priced web host.

[Yes, I do have one of those to offer you as well. Visit the web hosting page. :0)]

What's more, the merchanting packages which they frequently include and claim as a huge bonus are in reality widely available for nothing more than the initial setup fee, which you have to pay anyway.

So why have I included them at all?

Because of the exceptions. There is one that is free and may be all you need, and there are two which will do everything you want them to, depending on the kind of site you want to set up and what you want to achieve with it. All three stand head and shoulders above the rest.

First determine whether you are about to build what amounts to little more than a personal site with possibly some back-end sales, or whether what you have in mind is a full blown, online business based on whatever your great passion in life happens to be.

If you decide on the latter, then you would be well advised to explore the recommendations given below in greater detail. I promise you that there are none better anywhere on the internet (and I think it's highly unlikely there will be in the near future).

 

EZwebstudion is something of a phenomenon in that it is unbelievably powerful, comes with a full suite of over 2,500 graphics and it's completely free. There's no expensive upgrade required to make it fully functional, there are free videos to teach you how to use it, it is the simplest website builder I have ever used and no programming knowledge of any kind is needed to produce a very professional website. If you are on a limited budget, or technically challenged, this is the software for you. I guaranteee it will let you have a website up and running within 15 minutes of deciding which of the many website templates you want to use, and no-one will know it was done for nothing.

This is far more than just a website builder - it's a complete marketing system which takes you from the basic concept right through to search engine optimization and beyond. Absolutely everything you need for a themed, niche site is included and  more stuff is being added all the time. In fact, your biggest drawback is probably being overwhelmed by what's available. Don't be intimidated. Worked through step by logical step (and Ken Evoy's system doesn't let you do anything else) you simply cannot fail with this amazing package. Clicking on the logo will take you to a page where you can try out some of the services for free. So why don't I use it? Simply because each package is a stand-alone which builds one multi-paged site revolving around one particular niche. I have several sites on different themes and it would simply be too costly to buy a package for each one. If you are going to specialize in just one area of expertise then SBI is definitely the way to go. If you want lots of sites that can be easily and quickly constructed, read on.

Using just this program I can create a multi-paged website, properly optimized for the search engines, complete with navigation menus, site map, links page and even a Google Adsense account, in under two hours. And that includes filling it with top quality content.   I get full support, regular updates and a training manual, all of which are second to none.   Learn to use it and you will love it as much as all its other users. These days it's just about the only site builder I use. You can see my most recent website(s) at all-about-cooking.com, and of course you are looking at one right now.   Remember, that entire cooking site was built in one wet weekend using just this program and nothing else. Everything is built in with the exception of the graphics, which I already had on file. You can create those for nothing and they're not even that important. There are plenty of sites where you can get them for free. You'll find some details on the templates page.   If you would like to find out more about XsitePro, there is an excellent video lasting about 5 minutes which will show you the main points. Click here to view it now